Hi everyone. I'm Chavie Resnick.

Jewish Girls Retreat has added so much to my life, in more ways than one. From the minute I stepped into camp two summers ago  and was greeted with a big hug from the head counselor, I knew I was going to have a blast, make a ton of new friends, and learn a lot.
And I was right. I gained so much from that summer and I didn't think it could get any better. It was my first year here, but I felt like I fit in from the first day.

JGR isn't just a camp. It's an amazingly close-knit group of girls that's, thank G-d, growing every summer. You get to know ALL the girls, younger and older, and ALL the counselors, not just your own. Camp is only for three weeks, but the camp spirit continues all year  and gives everything a little taste of fun and excitement. I'm still floating from the past summer.

Without a doubt, I can say that my favorite part of camp are the counselors. They're so much fun, always giving and loving and definitely making camp the happiest place to be. Even the ones who weren't really my counselors made me feel like they were. Go counselors!

This past summer, I was looking forward to another three weeks of nonstop fun. And three weeks of nonstop fun it was. Although during camp I had other thoughts, I can now look back and say that this year was so amazingly amazing, and I learned a ton and it was the experience of a lifetime. I guess I was wrong when I thought camp couldn't get any better.

As most of you know, I've been homeschooling for the past three years and I take every opportunity I can to meet new girls, and as my mother would say, "expand my social horizons". I have made so many new friends in JGR, from the summer and winter retreats. Also, being involved with YALDAH has contributed greatly to my group of friends. Thanks, Leah. Also, Leah, thanks for telling me about JGR. If you hadn't wanted that discount, I might have missed the time of my life!

As an amazing side benefit, or, I was thinking, maybe this is the reason I came to camp in the first place, I also got teachers out of camp. Thank you, Sara Schulman, Rivky Blumberger, even though she's not here, and Nechama Laber. Learning with you on the phone or in person is enhancing my school year and I'm loving it.

This is the fourth time I've been in JGR, and iy"H I'll be back here this summer. But, Moshiach is on his way,so I'll see you all in JGR in Yerushalayim for the biggest, most amazing year of camp you will ever see!